How to get the most of treetop vistas and Oakland, Calif.’s abundant sunshine into this cramped bathroom was the question facing architect Larry Chang. Cutting open the exterior wall and inserting a custom greenhouse window made all the difference. The three-dimensional window and built-in vanity below bump out 2 feet beyond the existing wall to add elbowroom as well as sunlight. But it’s difficult to shave when you’re staring at the greenery, so Chang had a mirror mounted on simple rolling hardware. It can be moved out of the way when an owner wants to gaze into the distance. And when either of them wants to shave or apply makeup, he or she can simply slide it into position.
“The window didn’t leave us anywhere to mount vanity lights,” says Chang about the particularly interesting challenge the greenhouse created. His answer: “We compensated with exterior lighting.” Outdoor floodlights are pointed toward both ends of the window. Operable casements on either side are frosted to diffuse the bright light. Chang is pleased with the results of this unusual lighting system. “It creates a nice glow,” he says.
To make sure the window didn’t overwhelm the room, which measures just less than 7 feet across and just more than 7 feet long, Chang created a rhythmic scale of repetitive proportions. Instead of the window reaching all the way to the ceiling, Chang sized it to fill two-thirds of the total opening in relation to the one-third space occupied by vanity cabinets. The rule of three continues with mullions that evenly break up the window’s upper slope. The sliding mirror fits into any one of those thirds. Following the window’s exact divisions are three maple cabinet doors underneath the vanity. A trio of holes in lieu of a pull on the vanity drawer reinforces the triple cadence one more time. Chang says the replicating pattern “gives the room a personal scale and makes it more visually comfortable.”
Builder: Newell Construction, Berkeley, Calif.; Architect: SightWorks Architecture and Interior Design, Oakland, Calif.; Cabinetmaker: Bruce Veldhuisen, San Rafael, Calif.; Photographer: William Helsel.
